1. Technical Field
The present invention provides an apparatus, system, method and computer program product for determining an optimum route based on historical information.
2. Description of Related Art
Many vehicle navigation systems are known in the art for obtaining an xe2x80x9coptimumxe2x80x9d route between a starting location and an ending location. These xe2x80x9coptimumxe2x80x9d routes, however, are typically determined to be either the route having the shortest travel distance between two points or the route having the shortest travel time.
Some vehicle navigation systems that determine xe2x80x9coptimumxe2x80x9d routes make use of current traffic situations to augment their determination of travel times. In other words, the occurrence of certain traffic situations, such as a road being blocked, an accident, road construction, and the like, influence the travel time. These navigation systems, however, very often do not provide the actual optimum route because they do not take into consideration many factors that influence whether a route provides the best overall travel experience to the user. For example, using the prior art systems, a user may be able to travel from point A to point B along a path that is the shortest travel distance, but may be delayed considerably by flooding of the road, may be involved in an accident due to icy conditions, may be subjected to a high crime area, or the like. Similarly, a prior art system may determine that a particular route from point A to point B is the shortest travel time and end up being incorrect because factors other than the current traffic conditions may cause delays in traveling along the path.
The present invention provides an apparatus, system, method and computer program product for determining an optimum route for a vehicle based on historical data. The present invention provides a mechanism by which historical data regarding legs of a travel path is used to compare various possible routes between a starting point and an ending point. Based on the comparison, an optimum route is determined in accordance with selection criteria entered by a party requesting the optimum route determination. The historical data used may include measured data obtained from other vehicles as well as environmental data, traffic data, crime data, statistical data, and the like, obtained from one or more historical data suppliers. The historical data is compiled and statistically analyzed to determine characteristics of each possible route, and legs of each possible route, between two points.